Dear all, (I wonder if you can meet me on Saturday, August 8th at 10.30)
1). In preparing for your independent study (IS), you should make up your mind as to whether you'll stick with the topic you proposed or will change to a new one. Once you've made up your mind, we'll start from there. As far as I'm concerned, an IS topic should be feasible in the sense that you can finish it within the timeframe you have, which is about 4 months. While I realize that an IS, much like a fully-fledged MA thesis, must be of high quality, I personally believe that "small is beautiful."
2). Typically, an IS consists of 5 chapters: introduction, literature review, research design, findings and dicussion; and conclusion. The whole piece should have no less than 35 pages and can run up to as much as necessary. In other words, there is no hard and fast rule that determines the number of pages.
3). Of the five chapters mentioned above, you should begin with Chapter 2: literature review. This is because you'll need to read relevant theories and previous studies germane to your topic. Reading the documents is very time-consuming, so the sooner, the better. Speaking of conceptual framework or theory, you will need at least 1 theory, but in many cases, you may need to incorporate two or three theories or framework, depending on the scope of your topic. As for previous studies, I would suggest that you use research studies reported in journals rather than books. In fact, you may need at least 10 journal articles that are not too old; old articles are fine as long as they are classic. But for the most part, make sure to have journal articles that are within the 5-year range starting from this year backward.
4) Chapter 3: research design is the most straightforward part to write because you simply reported what you did in terms of data collection, participants; sampling techniques; data analysis and whatnot.
5) Chapter 4: findings and discussion. This one is the most daunting and time-consuming because you'll definitely need to present your STRONG ARGUMENT regarding the data you've analyzed. Certainly, when discussing your findings, make sure to associate them with the previous studies you've painstakingly reviewed in Chapter 2.
6). Chapter 5: conclusion. This one should be relatively easy to write because by the time you've finished Chapter 4, you'll have relatively successfully framed your thoughts (truse me...you might begin to fall in love with your research now).
7). Chapter 1: Introduction. We save the best for last. Yes...you should begin writing Chapter 1 after you've completed the above. I know that this seems paradoxical; writing Chapter 1 last.
8). So if you read this and understand what I want, you might not have to come to see me on Saturday 8th. It's up to you, but I'd appreciate it if you could please acknowledge this email so that I'll know whether you've received it.
Meanwhile, stay calm and we'll walk together to the end with glory and passion. I'll write to you all in English and I expect you to do the same in your response to me.
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